"We’re not whipped."

Independent Sen. Yuen Pau Woo and Conservative Sen. Linda Frum sparred on Twitter Monday over a bill proposing to close a Canada Elections Act loophole on foreign funding for third parties.

OTTAWA — A Conservative senator is accusing Independent colleagues of protecting a loophole in the Elections Act that allows foreign donors to give money to Canadian third parties during elections.

Sen. Linda Frum charged Monday that the Independent Senators Group (ISG) was blocking the advancement of Bill S-239, introduced last summer, from being studied at the committee level.

Why is the ISG is blocking Bill S239 from being studied at committee? Do Independent Senators support foreign money in elections?! Close the loophole! Let's make it illegal for foreigners to contribute to CDN 3rd parties for election purposes. How is this even controversial? https://t.co/dhEXmUrg3A

VS. The Independent Senators Group taking a position of support for foreign funding in Canadian elections on the grounds that Conservative Senators are opposed to it?! Because that is what's happening here. https://t.co/vJsp83J5DE

Under our current Election Act foreign entities can lawfully donate unlimited amounts of money to Canadian third parties for election-related purposes. Either you think this is right or wrong. I think it's wrong. Hence: #BillS239https://t.co/NjAWRrecwS

If passed, the proposed legislation would amend a section of the Canada Elections Act to prohibit a third party from accepting foreign money "for any purposes related to an election." It would also add two new classifications for who is considered as "foreign contributors."

Sen. Yuen Pau Woo, leader of the ISG, said Frum's claim Independent senators are working together to stop her private member's bill from being studied is "inaccurate" and "blatantly false."

"We're not whipped," Woo told HuffPost Canada in an interview, adding he hasn't spoken to all ISG members about the bill. "The ones who have spoken, they've expressed reservations, but they haven't said they don't want it to go to committee."

Speaking about the need to improve cybersecurity and weaknesses in the government's critical infrastructure, Brennan told the broadcaster that Canada needs to consider that outside agents "are going to try to do them harm, including in their electoral systems."

Brennan said malicious activity in cyber and digital environments is what keeps him awake at night, saying "that is the environment that holds most of our future security and prosperity in its midst."

Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
Former CIA director John Brennan testifies before the House Intelligence Committee in the U.S. Capitol in Washington D.C. on May 23, 2017.

"S-239 will do nothing to address that issue," Woo said. He added the bill doesn't do anything to stop the spread of made-in-Canada false information from influencing voters at the polls.

Frum told HuffPost Canada she isn't pretending her private member's bill is a way of protecting the whole electoral system from "every possible form of foreign interference."

It does close a "significant" loophole in Canada's election law, the Toronto senator said. "And I can think of no honourable reason not to want to pass this bill."

Concerns about advocacy chill is 'nonsense': Tory senator

Conservatives are concerned about foreign contributions to registered Canadian left-leaning organizations during election years. Frum has previously used the example of Tides, an American foundation with a focus on environmental and social justice issues, that made $700,000 in donations to eight third parties during the 2015 federal election.

Under the current Canada Elections Act, it's legal for third parties to accept foreign money for use in election-timed campaigns. Basically, there's nothing in the law that prohibits Canadian advocacy groups or think tanks from taking money from wealthy foreigners with some sort of stake in the outcome of the election.

A report titled "Elections Canada Complaint Regarding Foreign Influence in the 2015 Canadian Election" obtained by the Calgary Herald last year claims "electoral outcomes were influenced."